CES will bring out all the big players in the mobile processor game, each ready to flaunt the power, speed, and overall performance of their mobile processing chips. We’re going to give you a look at a few of the major players and what they plan to bring to the CES table. This year’s buzz word should be “quad-core,” and we’re hoping to see plenty of it (hopefully on phones).

NVIDIA

NVIDIA should be at CES in full force, showing off their quad-core Tegra 3 chip along with the Tegra 2. I’m sure they’ll have tons of demos showing off some extreme multi-core multitasking, gaming, and whatever else they can throw at the chip. There will be plenty of partners showcasing NVIDIA Tegra processors in everything from tablets to automobiles.

Below you’ll find information directly from NVIDIA on some places you can go during CES to experience the power of NVIDIA:

Visit our booth in South Hall 3 and our automotive display area in the Central Plaza outside to see how NVIDIA powers
Super Phones, Super Tablets, Super PCs, Super Notebooks, and Super Cars.

NVIDIA® Tegra®
See for yourself how quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 and dual-core Tegra 2 processors are redefining performance in mobile devices. Extreme multi-core multitasking. The best Web experience, with up to two times faster browsing and hardware-accelerated Flash. Console-quality gaming with an integrated ultra-low power (ULP) NVIDIA GeForce® GPU. Even 1080p HD video capabilities unlike anything seen before on a mobile device.

Tegra 3 Tablet:
ASUS Transformer Prime

NVIDIA® In Automotive
NVIDIA powers the coolest Super Cars! From Audi and Tesla Motors to Lamborghini, NVIDIA® Tegra® is driving innovation in navigation systems, in-vehicle infotainment, and digital instrument clusters. Discover how visual computing power from NVIDIA makes driving safer and more enjoyable. Get hands-on experience with the newest navigation system and see how 3D makes navigation more “glanceable” and intuitive. Feast your eyes on rich 3D instrument cluster designs. And check out how Tegra delivers advanced driver assistance, making it safer to be on the road. All with the most energy-efficient technology—suitable even for electric cars.

AT&T Dev Summit
Come by the NVIDIA booth #13 in the AT&T Developer Summit to learn about our powerful toolkit for our partners developing mobile applications for Tegra powered mobile devices. These tools can help you simplify mobile application development, release the raw power of Tegra, and focus on creating compelling content. Find out about our new Tegra multi-core CPU profiler, developed to help optimize applications for quad-core CPUs, in addition to recent updates to our Tegra graphics debugger, PerfHUD ES. For the latest and greatest in Tegra Android development, stop by our booth or visit the Tegra Developer Center!

Verizon Booth
Come by the Verizon booth #30161 and the NVIDIA booth #31431 to see our Tegra technology in action. Check out the power of Tegra 3, the world’s first quad-core mobile processor, delivering stunning graphics. Experience heart-pounding NVIDIA® GeForce® GPU performance in all your racing, shooting, sports, and role-playing games – a full console quality gaming experience – to go! Want the full console rush? Just link up with your controller and start playing. Tegra 3 is way faster than anything else out there, so you can get amazing gaming wherever you go. Download the Tegra Zone app to your device to get all the latest Tegra-based games.

Qualcomm

Qualcomm is another major chipset manufacturer who will have a strong presence at CES this year. In fact, Qualcomm CEO Dr. Paul Jacobs has been selected to deliver the opening keynote at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show and will be discussing the role mobile technology plays in global innovation and economic growth in consumer electronics. Of course we’ll be looking for some demos of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips, especially their S4 quad-core chip. Qualcomm has also announced that they will be debuting their Snapdragon GameCommand App, which means we should see plenty of console quality mobile gaming.

Below is some information on Qualcomm and where to find them at CES 2012:

Samsung Exynos

While Samsung will have everything from TVs to tablets to show off at CES, I don’t expect much from them regarding their Exynos processors. If we’re lucky, we may get a sneak peek at a rumored 11.6″ Galaxy Tab powered by their 2GHz dual-core Exynos 5250 processor and Android 4.0. Said tablet is also rumored to have a breathtaking 2560×1600 resolution display, but we’ll have to see it to believe it.

Getting to see the Exynos 5250 in action is about the only processor highlight we can expect from Samsung this year, and if we see it, it will most likely come in tablet form. For more information on the Exynos 5250 and where to find Samsung at CES, check the information below.

Samsung Announces Industry First ARM Cortex-A15 Processor Samples for Tablet Computers

Exhibitor Press Events Detail

Samsung

January 9, 2012, 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
Lando 4201, The Venetian

Samsung Electronics America
Booths: , GL10, GL8
Central – 12004
North Hall Meeting Rooms – N106, N108, N209, N210, N213, N214, N215, N216, N217, N218, N219, N220, N221, N222, N223, N224, N231

Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments and their OMAP processors will be on hand at CES 2012, but rather than showing off inside of new unannounced devices, I expect TI to focus on the OMAP platform-enabled experience, showing users real world uses for OMAP powered devices. It’s possible we may see some OMAP 5 devices but I fully expect them to focus on the three components of their Me-D experience at CES:

• Touchless gesturing in the “natural” dimension
• Stereoscopic 3D (S3D) in the “third” dimension
• Interactive projection in the “projected” dimension.

I’m betting they will have a lot of DLP Pico projection tech on demo, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Angry Birds being projected onto a 50″ screen.

Below is some information on Texas Instruments and where to find them at CES 2012:

Intel

Intel and their new Medfield chip is sort of the wild card this year. All eyes will be on them, and whether or not their new chip can win them a spot in the World Series of Mobile Chip Tournament. They have teamed up with LG (another company in need of a mobile boost) to show off the Medfield chip’s power and capabilities within both smartphones and tablets. These LG devices will most likely be prototypes with no expectancy of release, but the main issue will be whether or not the Medfield chip can compete with the likes of the quad-core Tegra 3, while maintaining a low power consumption model. Everything’s going to revolve around the Medfield’s power consumption, since this is where Intel has failed so many times. It will be interesting to see, but I’m guessing Intel will continue to fail in this department, thus keeping them from becoming a viable option in the mobile chip industry.

Below is some information on Intel and where to find them at CES 2012:

Intel

January 9, 2012, 9:00 AM – 9:45 AM
Galileo 1002, The Venetian

Join Intel executives for an update on the company’s latest technology and products powering consumer devices today and in the future, as well as a preview of what the company will showcase throughout CES. Press conference seating is first come, first served. Doors open at 8:45 a.m.

There definitely won’t be a lack of processor power at CES 2012, and we’ll be there to check it all out. Who’s going to hold the strongest hand, and who’s going to try to bluff their way to the top? My money’s on NVIDIA and their quad-core Tegra 3. Who are you betting on this year and what do you hope to see?